1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to cushions, and specifically to loose fill cushions designed to provide ergonomic back or seat support.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Over the years, numerous methods for making chairs and sofas ergonomically supportive have been developed. Most methods involve contouring the face of the backrests, or adding pillows to the outside. U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,362 to the present inventor provides a way to provide a firm lumbar support in foam cushions without affecting the aesthetics of the cushion. This method calls for a cavity in a foam cushion to be filled with a firm lumbar support. However, this method does not lend itself to providing lumbar support in most loose fill type cushions. The problem is that though a foam cushion with a cavity provides a way to suspend the firm lumbar support within the cushion, without such a foam cushion with a cavity, positioning a lumbar support in a loose fill cushion would result in the lumbar support floating around the cushion, and as a result, the lumbar support would no longer be in the correct position for optimal back support in all axis. Thus, the lumbar support might shift to be too far to the front or back, too high or low, or skewed rotationally so that part of the lumbar support may be too far toward the front while the other is too far toward the back, or one part is high while the other part is low, or the alignment of the lumbar support may be improper, thus the top of the lumbar support may tilt toward the back while the bottom may tilt toward the front.
The primary advantage of the present invention over the prior art, is that it provides a way to provide lumbar support in a loose fill cushion, and does so by enabling the lumbar support to be suspended within the loose fill cushioning material, and to maintain the proper position and alignment within the cushion for optimal comfort and support to someone leaning against the cushion.